Snake Tattoos and Worse
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: Orochimaru had an unhealthy habit of tattooing himself. And Kabuto feels the need to chew him out for it once again. For once, not yaoi or shonen-ai. Now a drabble collection of how everyone I can think of uses needles for decoration, from Pein to Tsunade
1. Chapter 1: Bye Bye Beautiful

The smell of ink was strong in the air. Black, green, blue, red, purple, and gold paints all lay on the table next to the pale-skinned man sitting on his bed, a paintbrush poised over his hip. His shirt had been discarded, leaving him only clothed in his dark pants. Orochimaru leaned back slightly to apply the tattoo he was working on, the muscles in his abdomen working hard to keep him upright, and yet leaning back at the same time. Orochimaru brushed the last part of the tattoo onto his skin, pushing his pants down a bit farther on his slender hips. The cool air of his underground lair failed to chill him: whatever could make the master of fear tremble would have to be below negative forty Celsius, and enough to make even the toughest of shinobi faint with pure fear. Orochimaru leaned on one arm, finishing up the details of his tattoo with his free hand. Just as he was applying the last of the marks to the tribal snake design, a knock echoed on the hollow wood of his door. Orochimaru sighed roughly, setting the brush down on the table and wiping his hands from the smudges of the paint. "Come in," he called, permitting whoever wanted entrance to come into his room.

Kabuto entered, closing the door behind himself. Almost immediately, his nose wrinkled, and he cast about the room, seemingly searching for something. "It smells like ink in here. Orochimaru-sama, if I find one needle in this room-"

Orochimaru allowed a disparaging snort to escape his throat. "Not this time," he said, gently blowing on the tattoo to dry it. "But you might have been better giving me that warning a couple days ago."

Kabuto's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, you didn't-"

Orochimaru smirked and turned around, pulling his ebony hair over his shoulder. There, on each of his shoulder blades, was a perfect rendition of a snake-a cobra. Across the back of his neck read: "Amaranth." Kabuto sighed, almost ready to punch himself. Where had Orochimaru picked up this deplorable habit of marking every body of his? He hadn't liked it when Orochimaru had been using temporary inks, but when it came to needles, Kabuto drew the line. "And how many times have I asked you not to do that to yourself?"

"Countless."

"And have you taken anything I have said to heart?"

"Oh, Kabuto. Dear, naïve, Kabuto. While you're probably right, you're not living in a borrowed body. I am. I don't need to worry."

Kabuto sighed again, rubbing his forehead. He could feel a headache rapidly approaching, and blamed Orochimaru. "That attitude is going to kill you one day," he muttered, not caring if the snake sannin heard him or not. Orochimaru shrugged, and pushed his hair back over his shoulder. As he turned, though, a metallic gleam from Orochimaru's pale stomach caught Kabuto's eye. If his eyes had been wide before, they were ready to explode now.

"_You pierced your navel?!"_

"Um…yeah…I meant to talk to you about that…"

"When did you do this?!"

"At Tayuya's sweet sixteen…her cousin's a professional piercer…"

"Isn't her cousin in jail?"

"Parole."

Kabuto was ready to shoot himself now. Orochimaru had both tattooed himself and pierced himself, all in the space of a week. God knows what else he had done. This body seemed to have an unusually high tolerance for pain. Either that, or Orochimaru's new passion was taking a rather grim turn. "And how, pray, did you convince them to do it?"

"Easy," Orochimaru snickered. "I handed them a picture of the design and a wad of cash and said, 'do it.' And then they fired up the needle gun and that was that."

"They got to see you shirtless."

"Pretty much, yeah."

Kabuto rolled his eyes. Still, he couldn't exactly blame the girls for wanting a glimpse of Orochimaru without a shirt on. If even someone like him, who, at times thought he was asexual, could see the snake lord as more attractive than a magnet, it was then that one knew Orochimaru was the epitome of appealing. Still, Orochimaru wasn't getting off that easily.

"Did they at least have everything sterilized?"

"It was a new set of needles, relax!"

"And anyone working on the tattoo had gloves on?"

"Yes."

"And they cleaned the area with alcohol?"

"Yes."

Kabuto sighed. He couldn't deny that the operation had been sanitary, then. If Orochimaru was telling the truth. Which he doubted. Orochimaru had another deplorable habit, and that was lying. Kabuto had never heard so many lies come from one person's mouth in his entire life. And that was saying something, because Kabuto's entire life was based on lying. Well, he might get Orochimaru to tell the truth.

"You are lying through your teeth."

"Actually, not this time." Seeing Kabuto's skeptical expression, Orochimaru added, "I know you don't believe me, but I actually am telling the truth."

Kabuto looked less than convinced, but Orochimaru couldn't think of anything else to say that might convince Kabuto to believe him. And so, Orochimaru shrugged, and reached for his shirt.

"How many more do you have?"

Orochimaru paused, and dropped the shirt again. He pulled up the left leg of his pants, turning his leg so the inside of his knee was visible. In said location was inscribed the Japanese kanji for "love." "One." He dropped that leg of his pants, and pulled the other one up so Kabuto could see his ankle. There was a purple-and-black snake, wrapping around Orochimaru's entire ankle and even extending down over his foot a bit. "Two." He turned around and pushed down the waistband of his pants, showing off the kanji in his lower back: BYE BYE BEAUTIFUL. "Three." He lifted his hair, revealing the most recent tattoo: the snakes with the "Amaranth." "Four." The hair fell, and Orochimaru turned around again. He turned over his wrist, revealing a tribal sun design. "Five." He pulled his pants down, completely off one hip now, exposing an iguana on his thigh. "Six." He settled his pants back into place, and reached for his shirt again. Kabuto looked absolutely horrified at the sight of Orochimaru's many body markings, all made permanent in black inks.

"And how many piercings?"

"The one in my stomach, four in this ear, and two in this one."

"Kami! Orochimaru-sama, do you get off on pain?"

Orochimaru smiled sadistically. "No. But I do have a high tolerance for it. And let's face it: this is pretty much a no-regret deal."

Kabuto couldn't argue with that. If Orochimaru didn't like a tattoo, all he had to do was switch bodies. It would suit his master's fickle interests nicely. "Are you getting more?"

"Is that a serious question?"

Kabuto glared at Orochimaru was the sannin pulled his shirt down over his stomach and pulled his hair out of it. "Answer me!"

"Of course."

Well, that at least, was an honest answer.

**A/N: Yeah, no explanation…just had fun doing it. Heh, that's what she said. Review, por favor.**

**Also, being the Nightwish fangirl I am, I have hidden little song references in here. Find 'em.**


	2. Chapter 2: Astral Romance

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Please?"

"If I say yes will you shut up?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

"Nice!"

Tayuya hopped up on the operating table in the lab room of Kabuto's she had currently invaded. She thrust a piece of paper into his hands, and then proceeded to pull off her hat and pull her shirt down away from her neck. "Right here," she said, pulling her hair forward, over her left shoulder. "Under the Curse Mark."

"What exactly is this?" Kabuto asked slowly, staring at the paper in his hands. "I know the kanji say 'Astral Romance,' but what does that mean?"

"Rose," Tayuya said, motioning to the picture. "I drew it myself. Pretty good, huh?"

Kabuto shook his head slightly, unsure as to the purpose of the snake wrapped around the stem of said rose. The snake had become entangled in the rose's thorns, and was bleeding in several places from said thorns. Tayuya had an interesting sense of body decoration. Kabuto placed the paper on Tayuya's back, in the proffered spot, and then pressed on the back with a wet paper towel. The ink transferred faintly to her skin, allowing Kabuto to see the outline of the design on Tayuya's skin. Kabuto peeled the paper off the back, and then went for the ink cartridges. "You've never had a tattoo before, so I'll tell you now: this is going to hurt like a _mother._"

Tayuya merely snorted, and waved him off. "I know, I know," she said. "And I can assure you I've been through worse."

"You know, legally, I shouldn't even be firing this thing up."

"Who ever said I was paying you to obey the law?"

"You aren't paying me at all."

"I am soon."

Kabuto shrugged. It was impossible to argue with that logic. He shoved the ink cartridge into the back of the needle gun, and switched the power on. "You'll get used to it after a while," he said, checking the ink one last time. "But, for now, just try to relax."

The needle touched Tayuya's skin, shooting the ink deep into her epidermis. To her credit, the Otonin barely flinched, but Kabuto could see the shiver running up and down her spine as the outline of the tattoo began to be traced onto her skin. Kabuto wiped away the extra ink with a paper towel, revealing the true outline he had drawn. So far, the rose was coming into perspective, and then the stem, and then the snake. Slowly, the tattoo began to take shape, the thin outline of such indicating forever where the snake and the rose had danced. Tayuya held still for hours as color began to shape the tattoo, needles punching her skin again and again. When the entire tattoo was finally finished, it spanned across Tayuya's entire shoulders and the kanji spelling out "Astral Romance" were almost touching the Curse Mark. Kabuto finally switched off the needle gun and set it aside, wiping aside the last of excess ink spilling out from the needle gun. Tayuya slowly rolled her shoulders, stretching out the kinks in the muscles.

"Don't sleep on your back for a while," Kabuto said dryly. "And try not to get kicked here. It's going to be sore for a while. Wait until the scabs fall off; don't pick at them."

"How goes the bra issue?"

Kabuto grimaced. "Wear a strapless is my advice," he said. "Or wear one that has straps that won't irritate this too much. I do _not_ recommend a razorback."

Tayuya nodded as Kabuto taped a bandage over her tattoo, and pushed her hair back over her shoulders. "I'll have your money tomorrow," she said, hopping down off the table. "Thank you much."

"I want two hundred for that."

Tayuya sighed and rolled her eyes, but Kabuto found the huge wad of cash on his bed later that night.

**A/N: Ah, this is going to be a fun collection of drabbles…: ) Find the Nightwish references again.**


	3. Chapter 3: Dead to the World

Pein stood in front of his bathroom mirror, once again with a long, hooked needle and a ring in his hands. He was marking the spot on his eyebrow ridge he wanted to pierce with a Sharpie marker; silver, to blend in with the piercing, once it was in. Pein set the marker down and then picked up the nasty-looking needle, moving it up to his skin. He pinched the skin there, pulling it out a bit and gauging the amount of skin he needed to put the piercing through. Once that was done, he marked the entry and exit points of the needle, and finally began the piercing.

A deep breath in, a deep breath out. A slight pinch at the end of the exhale.

And he was done.

Pein made the transfer from needle to ring, and pushed the slightly-smaller metal ring through the skin as he pulled the curved needle out. There was minimal blood from the wound; the piercing itself stopped up the vessels and veins through which Pein had stabbed himself. The metal ring through his brow ridge served as a clotting factor enough. Pein set the needle down on the side of the sink, and capped each end of the ring in his brow. It had been too long since he had done this; especially to this body. It was, in Pein's opinion, decidedly lacking in piercings: his Deva realm body, the original.

"Pein?"

The door opened slightly, and Konan stuck her head in, glancing around and taking in the scene at hand. "Oh, Pein!" she cried, seeing the blood-smeared needle and Pein leaning over the skin. The area around the piercing was quickly turning red, and was even swelling up a bit. "Why can't you just stop? Please. For me."

Pein shook his head. "Konan, dear, you know I can't do that," he said. "You might be like my sister, and while I love you very much, there are some things a man just can't give up."

"I don't see Deidara or Itachi piercing themselves constantly," Konan shot back. "What are you, some kind of masochist?"

Pein felt a small smile, however sick it was, grace his finely chiseled features. "So what if I am...dead to the world, dead to its pain."

Konan felt shivers as she realized it was more a statement than a question.

**A/N: For once, no Nightwish references. PHYSCE!! Ah you knew it was too good to be true. For those of you who haven't noticed, these chapters actually have titles. Holy crap, since when did that happen? And the titles are the Nightwish references. All song titles; it's the main theme...type...thing...and this was really short, too. So, reviews would be nice...**


	4. Chapter 4: Escapist

Kakashi didn't feel like he was ready.

It was the day of his graduation to ANBU status, and he was receiving his tattoo today as proof of his accomplishment. This tattoo was made of a special ink that could never be removed, not even if you took a laser to it. It showed that Kakashi always was, and always would be, an ANBU, and a loyal member of the ANBU Corps. As Kakashi made his way to the Hokage's Tower, though, where the ceremony was set to take place, he couldn't help but feel like he was rushing his life along.

But, hey, when most shinobi died at thirty, was he really rushing?

_The nightingale in the gold cage; that's me locked inside reality's maze..._

Kakashi entered the base of the Tower, moving up the stairs to the topmost room in the tower: the Hokage's office. Kakashi opened the door to said office, and found himself staring down a dozen ANBU, all wearing their uniforms and masks, with the Sandaime himself at the peak of their triangular formation. Kakashi balked slightly, almost feeling like he was entering his death. Sandaime smiled warmly at him, though, which immediately put Kakashi at ease.

"Welcome, Kakashi," he said. "Before we begin, please, have you thought about this enough? Are you sure of yourself?"

"Positive." Kakashi wished he was really as confident as he sounded.

"Well, then, shall we begin?"

Kakashi nodded once, and sat down on the stool off to the side. The female ANBU with the cougar mask stepped forward; apparently, she was doing the tattoo. She cleaned his skin, and then picked up a single senbon from the desk where she had left her things. She dipped the senbon in the vial of ink she had brought, and Kakashi gave a soft sigh at the sight. They were doing this old-school, then. Each and every puncture made manually, injecting the ink by a single tiny needle over and over. Kakashi didn't say anything, though: he wasn't going to question what seemed to be a long-standing tradition. As the first puncture was made, he stiffened slightly. But chakra was soon flowing through his arm, and he felt the muscles relaxing as it flowed.

"Thanks."

The woman nodded once, and made about making the next puncture. Kakashi found that she was actually working very quickly, and also, that he was getting used to the pain. He could really ignore it after a while. It just…was. It was just kind of there. And while it was uncomfortable, it was tolerable. Kakashi ticked off the minutes; forty-five, fifty, fifty-five, an hour, an hour and five minutes, an hour and ten minutes…

Finally, after an hour and twelve minutes, he was finished.

The woman took a step back, and then pressed her hand to the fresh tattoo. More chakra flowed, and Kakashi felt the design being permanently etched into the skin of his arm. He didn't mind, though: he wasn't about to betray the village, or do anything stupid like that. At least, if he kicked the can, they would be able to recognize the body.

"Hatake Kakashi, welcome to the ANBU Corps."

And he was handed his wolf mask.

**A/N: Crap…but I was bored. XP Review, please. Lyrics (a.k.a. the one line in italics) are from Nightwish's Escapist. I just thought it fit right there.**


	5. Chapter 5: Angels Fall First

Tayuya was instantly confused.

"And this is supposed to be…what, again?"

Kimimaro handed her the paper and a clear plastic tube of a dark brown paste. "Just do it," he said. "Please?" Tayuya glanced down at the paper. The picture was a rough sketch of the back and shoulders of a human male, with a tattoo design sketched over it. On each of the shoulder blades was an angel wing; between them was a thrashing snake and the kanji, "ANGELS FALL FIRST." Tayuya glanced at the henna Kimimaro had just handed her along with the paper, and sighed softly. Well, it wasn't permanent, and if he wanted it, Tayuya supposed it wouldn't do any harm. She uncapped the bottle of henna, screwing a nozzle onto the end. Kimimaro had already turned around; he now pulled his hair forward over his shoulders, and he was now pushing his kimono off his shoulders. The light purple material fell to hang around his waist, baring the pale, pale skin of his back. Tayuya reached up, and hesitantly began the design.

One angel's wing was drawn onto Kimimaro's skin with the dark henna paste, flowing smoothly from the large tube and adhering to the Kaguya's skin. Kimimaro sat still for the entire tattoo, without moving a hair's breadth. Tayuya could smell the henna the second she had opened the bottle, but now it was stronger than ever. The pungent aroma permeated the air, sneaking out into the hallway through the door, left open a crack. As she worked, Tayuya contemplated the meaning of the tattoo. "Angels fall first?" What did that mean? And the snake? It reminded her of Orochimaru, with its golden eyes, white scales, and black hood. The fact that it was dying slightly disturbed her. Kimimaro really didn't have much more to do than think these thoughts while lying in bed all day, huh?

Then it hit her. The snake _was _Orochimaru.

_Farewell - no words to say__  
__Beside the cross on your grave__  
__And those forever burning candles_

What did Kimimaro know that the rest of them didn't?

"Kimimaro," Tayuya said suddenly, pausing in her design of the snake itself. "What inspired this tattoo? I've never seen it before; it's an original, isn't it?"

Kimimaro hesitated, and then nodded. "A vision," he said softly, "showed me what was to become of Orochimaru-sama. Consumed in black fire, but still alive, within the shell of a body…he will live forever, I swear it to you. But his body will be destroyed."

Tayuya held very still for a moment. What was Kimimaro saying? The boy had to be crazy. Tayuya made a mental note to ask Kabuto to put a few extras in the medication Kimimaro was already taking. Tayuya took a deep breath, shook her head once, and then returned to the tattoo. She put the final touches on the snake, and then stepped back. "Alright, then," she said. "Done. Don't touch it for at least eight hours, don't lean against anything, and don't expose it to water for twelve hours. That'll keep the color for a good, long time." She unscrewed the narrow dispenser from the end of the tube, and replaced it with the cap to the bottle. She rinsed the nozzle with water, and then handed both that and the paper back to Kimimaro. "Have fun with that."

Kimimaro nodded once, and left. Tayuya was left standing, very confused.

_Needed elsewhere__  
__To remind us of the shortness of your time__  
__Tears laid for them__  
__Tears of love tears of fear__  
__Bury my dreams dig up my sorrows__  
__Oh Lord why__  
__The angels fall first?_

**A/N: Wh00t. Lyrics to Nightwish, Angels Fall First. Review, por favor.**


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